


what christmas means to me

by bevioletskies



Series: fic prompts & drabbles [17]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-18 00:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16984296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bevioletskies/pseuds/bevioletskies
Summary: “Look, Drax, the only thing I wanted you to be in charge of today was dinner. Can you just stick to that?” Peter sighed.“Of course,” Drax nodded. For one reason or another, the blasé smile on his face didn’t comfort Peter one bit.(Anonymous fic prompt: The Guardians celebrate their first Christmas as a team and a family, things nearly go very,verywrong)





	what christmas means to me

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place soon after _Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2_ and long before _Avengers: Infinity War_. Fic title is from the song [What Christmas Means To Me](https://open.spotify.com/track/0Cm9tD9xlYNCgW3UeHioq2?si=YLSmRZe6TAytzUiCHrbtqQ) by Stevie Wonder.

Time seemed to pass differently in space; it wasn’t the sort of linear calendar that one became familiar with while living on the ground, tied to one address, one city, one planet. There was no weather or cycle that told them _when_ it was, only _where_ they were, provided they weren’t lost, as the Guardians were ought to do. Still, Peter couldn’t help but incorporate some old-fashioned notions of his, and that included Terran holidays. The others entertained him, mostly so they wouldn’t have to put up with his complaints if they didn’t, but it wasn’t surprising that Groot, Mantis, and Gamora were the most interested in his traditions (though Drax and Rocket would deny they cared at all).

“Merry Christmas,” Peter mumbled into Gamora’s hair. It seemed like she had become more of a pillow these days than his actual pillow.

“Why is it ‘merry’, of all words?” Gamora mused instead of returning the sentiment, turning over to face him. “Why not ‘happy’?”

“I think they say ‘happy’ in Europe.” Peter yawned exaggeratedly, rewarding her with a faceful of his morning breath; she winced, swatting at him in disapproval. “Mantis is doing breakfast, right?”

“As per your request, since you can’t be bothered to cook yourself.” She sat up, reaching for an elastic so she could scrape her hair back into a messy knot. “What’s ‘Europe’?”

Peter laughed, both startled by the unexpected question and pleased by her increasing curiosity, leaning over to kiss her sloppily on the cheek. “If we got some time later, I should break out a Terran map, give you the grand tour.”

The two of them left their shared bunk moments later, ignoring the lecherous grin Rocket shot them on their way down the corridor into the communal living space. Groot was sat on the table - not at it, _on_ it - idly swinging his legs over the edge, while Drax was sat in the seat beside him, holding a glittery bauble up to the little one’s face. “But Quill told me it was Terran tradition to decorate a tree,” Drax explained patiently.

“I am Groot,” Groot protested.

“I didn’t mean _Groot_ , dude,” Peter interjected, swooping in to peel off the garland that Drax had apparently wrapped around poor Groot’s tiny torso, swallowing him up in itchy pine needles. Groot harrumphed in Drax’s direction and motioned for Gamora to pick him up, and she immediately swept him into her arms and carried him off before Drax could continue further. “Coffee?”

“Fresh pot,” Mantis called from their tiny kitchenette, where she was only just barely able to scrape together a proper meal on the minimal appliances they had. “Can you not smell it?”

“All I can smell is - ” Peter wrinkled his nose. “Did someone light a candle in here or something? We shouldn’t be doing that with all the engine fluid leaks we’ve been having this week.”

“You said it was part of the tradition,” Drax said defensively. “You informed us that your mother liked to buy candles that smell of vanillem - ”

“Vanilla,” Peter corrected. “And that doesn’t mean we should be lighting stuff when we’ve got gas canisters lying around, we could end up setting the ship on fire!”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Rocket grumbled as he strolled past, wrench in hand.

“Look, Drax, the only thing I wanted you to be in charge of today was dinner. Can you just stick to that?” Peter sighed.

“Of course,” Drax nodded. For one reason or another, the blasé smile on his face didn’t comfort Peter one bit.

The rest of the morning was slow, sleepy, almost comforting in a way that a lot of their mornings usually weren’t. It was typical of them to be in a rush someplace, jamming food into their mouths without much decorum as they scrambled into their seats in the cockpit, with Gamora alternating between reading off the mission brief and scolding Peter and Rocket for arguing over the controls. Today, she was sprawled on the floor with Groot in her lap, gently reminding him to be patient and wait for the others before opening his presents. It felt oddly domestic, and unusual, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“ _This_ can be our tree,” Peter proclaimed, sticking a small ribbon bow on top of one of the pipe valves that ran over their heads, interlocking in one of the few corners of the ship that wasn’t occupied by machinery, random junk, or some combination of the two. “I’ll bring all the presents over here and out of the way, that’ll work, right?”

“I am Groot?” Groot asked, reaching for him. Peter softened, peeling the bow off and gently patting it on Groot’s temple instead.

“How’s that, kid?” Peter grinned.

“I am Groot,” Groot beamed back.

All things considered, the present exchange went smoothly, with only a minor argument between Peter, Drax, and Rocket that, thankfully, didn’t result in anything being thrown. Gamora considered it a victory, though she suspected Mantis had something to do with it, given her antennae were faintly glowing the entire time. After a brief interlude for lunch, though everyone was already full on breakfast and stale cookies they’d purchased from the last planet they were working on, Drax retreated to the kitchenette, claiming he had to start cooking early or he’d never be done on time.

“Keep an eye on him,” Gamora murmured to Mantis. “You know how he is.”

“I do,” Mantis said, nodding dutifully.

Gamora slipped into her bunk, smiling when she found Peter curled up on their bed with a book. He looked quite cozy, tucked under the covers with his socked feet peeking out at the end, the sleeve hems of his sweater pulled over his hands. “Hi,” he said, smiling.

“Hello yourself,” she replied with an easy grin, shutting the door behind her. “I’m surprised at how well everyone’s behaving today.”

“Yeah, well, if Rocket could just relax for a second - ”

“ - or if both of you cared to listen to one another and realize that everything doesn’t have to be a contest, then maybe we’d have less animosity to deal with in the first place,” Gamora interrupted firmly, joining him on the bed. “You said this holiday was meant to be a time for family.”

“And families fight all the time,” he countered. “It’s normal.”

Gamora carefully placed her hand over his. “But there’s always a breaking point, Peter. A moment where we might decide that fighting that much means it’s not worth fighting _for_. Let’s not push it, push each other.” She bowed her head somewhat, sighing mournfully. “We’ve already lost family, all of us. Let’s not be the cause of losing this one, too.”

Concerned, he cupped her face, tilting her chin upwards so their eyes could meet. “Of course,” he promised softly. “You’re right. We’re all we’ve got, and I’m not about to go and change that.” Peter pulled Gamora into his arms, wrapping her up tightly in his embrace, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I wish your sister was here. So we’d know she’s okay. That she’s safe.”

“I wish she was, too.” Gamora snuggled into his side, finding herself pleasantly drowsy, serene in the way she usually was when it was just the two of them, away from the chaos of everyone else. “Did you...did you do anything like this when you were with Yondu?”

Peter swallowed. “Yeah. Tried to, anyway. I got him all sorts of weird trinkets. When I was younger, I made Kraglin pay for ‘em, but I had to promise to find _him_ somethin’, too, so we ended up gettin’ gifts for each other. And Yondu would always find some random Terran junk at the trading posts, hide it from me until the end of the year so he could give me a whole pile of stuff in one go. Most of it was broken crap, but sometimes...he found some real treasures. And besides, it’s the thought that counts, right?” His voice wavered on the last few words; she patted him sympathetically.

“I like that sentiment,” she said quietly. “Growing up the way that I did...both on my home planet, and with Thanos...you learn to appreciate the little things. The small victories. _And_ the intent, not just the outcome.”

“I like the sound of that, too.” He leaned in to kiss her, briefly but sweetly, pleased by the way her hands automatically came to rest on his torso, then slid around his waist to embrace him in return, bringing them even closer together. Unfortunately, only seconds later, the spell was broken by the sudden cry of Mantis’s panicked shriek.

“FIRE!”

“Here we go,” Peter groaned, scrambling to his feet. Gamora shot him a dirty look before yanking her boots back on and running out the door.

It was, to their dismay, about as bad as they anticipated - for such a small kitchenette that took up a laughably small area within the ship’s common space, it felt like the entire _room_ was on fire, flames burning hot and high, seemingly consuming every moldy cabinet and every crappy appliance they owned. Thankfully, Rocket’s first instinct was to snatch Groot up and sprint the other direction, while Mantis was clutching onto Drax’s arm, trying to keep him calm while he was being far too generous with the fire extinguisher, its contents spraying everything in his line of sight, and _then_ some.

“Watch it!” Peter yelled over the chaos, but it was too late - Drax turned in the direction of his voice, and _splat_ \- all across the front of his sweater. “Hey, whoa, this thing was expensive, dude - ”

“For the love of - get out of the way,” Gamora ordered, stepping in front of Peter and snatching the extinguisher out of Drax’s clearly incapable hands. One well-aimed squeeze, and the fire promptly began to die out. The moment the last flame flickered away, Gamora set down the extinguisher with a decisive _clank_ and folded her arms across her chest, shaking her head in disappointment. “Look at this! Half the _ship_ is now covered in foam!”

“Almost looks like it snowed in here,” Peter said, dragging his finger through the mess on his shirt and wincing with instant regret. “Hey, it’s beginning to look a lot like - ”

“ _Peter_ ,” Gamora snapped. “Drax, what happened?”

“I could not begin to tell you,” he admitted, his voice unusually small. “I’m...sorry, Gamora. And to you as well, Quill. I know how important this day, these traditions, are to you.”

Peter softened, moved by the rare sight of Drax’s humility. “Hey, accidents happen. It’s okay. I mean...hell, this ship gets repaired, like, twice a month, anyways, what’s one more time?” Gamora glared at him. “I’m gonna pay for that comment, aren’t I?”

“We’re _all_ going to pay for it,” she said bitingly, though she unfolded her arms, letting them fall to her sides. “Whatever it was, just don’t let it happen again, okay? And to make up for it, you can clean up your mess, and Peter and I will figure out what to do for dinner since we’ve quite literally burned through all our regular rations, too.” He nodded, smiling gratefully at them both as he got to his feet, reinvigorated.

Meanwhile, Peter and Gamora retreated back to their bunk to change into clean clothes. “Should’ve known somethin’ was gonna go wrong. We can never have just _one_ good day, can we?” Peter sighed, stripping off his sweater and reaching for one of the T-shirts he’d tossed on the floor a few days ago.

Gamora wrinkled her nose in disapproval and pulled a clean one from their tiny closet instead, shoving it into his bare chest. “Something without a stain, please,” she insisted. “And we’ve had plenty of good days, Peter. It’s _perfect_ days that elude us, and even then, I think I’d rather have several good days than a single perfect one.”

“Yeah...true,” he said thoughtfully, smiling. He pulled the T-shirt over his head, yanking it all the way down to his waist and smoothing out the wrinkles. “I can think of a lot of good days, actually. Where we all just kinda...relaxed, hung out, didn’t plan anything huge. Maybe _that’s_ where this all went wrong. Tryna make somethin’ out of nothin’.”

“Your traditions aren’t nothing, Peter. I like learning about everyone’s cultures, holding on to what’s left of them,” she said gently. “We’ll just have to try again next year, but right now, we need to focus on what to do next. When you were a child, what did you do when dinner didn’t work out?”

“I remember Mom burned the turkey one year. First time she tried to do it all by herself,” Peter said, chuckling quietly at the memory. “Grandpa told her not to worry about it and just ordered a bunch of pizzas. But I don’t think we can get delivery in space.”

Gamora cracked a small smile. “No, but we have this ship, and the entire galaxy ahead of us. What’s the next best thing?”

“I’ve got a place in mind, but...you’re not gonna like it.” He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her in close with the hope that she’d be too distracted by his embrace to care. Predictably, it didn’t work; she merely narrowed her eyes at him.

“I know exactly what you mean, and I don’t,” she sighed. “But when have I ever been able to talk you out of anything?”

Three hours later, the Guardians found themselves sitting at a bar with a meager offering of chips, some cheesy concoction of what Peter supposed was meant to be a mockery of Terran pizza, and cheap alcohol served in suspiciously foggy glasses laid out before them. Gamora reached for her drink, took a swig, and slammed it back down on the counter immediately. Despite her extensive body modifications, she could _still_ feel her gag reflex kicking in.

“Contraxia, really?”

“It snows here all the time, it’s the best I could do with where we were and what we had!” Peter said defensively. “No, Groot, don’t drink that - ”

“Think I rather would’ve jus’ eaten the burnt rations instead of this crap,” Rocket said, gingerly picking at the chip bowl with one hand and deftly sweeping Groot away from his beer stein with the other. “Y’know, it’s kinda depressing how we’re still poor as hell after all the stuff we’ve done for the galaxy.”

“Money isn’t the point,” Gamora reminded him.

“Then what _is_ the point?” Drax asked intently, leaning around Peter to look at her. “Rocket is right - ”

“Oh, it’s the end times,” Peter muttered; Mantis couldn’t help but giggle into his shoulder.

“ - we have been a team for almost a year now, and the galaxy never remains saved, nor are they grateful for our efforts,” Drax continued. “I am glad to have you as companions in combat and in life, but...it feels like we will never fulfill our intended purpose.”

“I don’t know if there _is_ a point, Drax.” Gamora stared into the contents of her mug, watching it slowly swirl around in an almost hypnotizing fashion. “As in, I don’t know if there’s a point where this will be…’fulfilled’. Where we can sit back and...watch the sun rise on a grateful universe.” She shuddered, almost like she was remembering her words from someone else’s mouth. “But I would rather say that I tried to do _something_ , than to admit I did nothing. That I got to choose what I did, and I chose right. Isn’t that what we’re all here for, anyway? Because we made that choice?”

“We chose to give a shit,” Peter echoed quietly. “And yeah, that _is_ what matters. Even if we don’t always get the recognition we deserve. Or the money.”

“You’re a bunch of saps, the whole lot of you,” Rocket snorted, shaking his head. “Personally, I look forward to the day where we do a job for someone who actually pays us what they promised, and pays us _real_ well. Hell, enough to retire, even.”

“Then what?” Mantis asked softly. “And then you leave?” Groot sat up from where he was perched on Gamora’s shoulder, looking at Rocket with big, liquid eyes of despair.

“No, I - look, I’m not drunk enough to get all touchy-feely with you guys,” Rocket said uncomfortably, taking another generous gulp of his drink as if he were looking to get himself there. “I don’t plan on going nowhere. Even if we _are_ gonna be down on our luck forever.”

“So what _does_ happen on this hypothetical day of yours? When we get all the money that we need?” Mantis persisted.

“We start with a better ship, for one,” Rocket snarked, clearing his throat. “One with a _real_ kitchen that has a sprinkler system and an actual oven. Bunks that aren’t the size of a closet. Engine that don’t bust on me every two weeks.”

“Fresh food,” Peter added. “Can’t forget about that.”

“A space for physical exercise, to keep myself in peak condition,” Drax said proudly, flexing his arms in a way that made Peter a little bit more than slightly jealous.

“Books,” Mantis and Gamora said at nearly the same time; they exchanged embarrassed, but pleased smiles, and Mantis reached over to squeeze Gamora’s hand in camaraderie. “There is much I have missed out on, living in isolation for so long.”

“You could say the same of me,” Gamora said, smiling ruefully. “It would be nice for both of us to get the education we never received.”

“I am Groot!” Groot piped up, jumping onto the counter and holding his arms out wide. Everyone else exchanged dubious looks.

“What’re you, crazy? No way, kid,” Rocket chuckled, though he patted for Groot to jump onto his shoulder. Groot acquiesced, snuggling into Rocket’s fur affectionately as he did.

“You know what?” Peter said, turning so he could see everyone else. Seeing all their faces staring back at him made his chest feel warm with joy, comfort, all the things he’d tried so hard to recreate on the ship they called home just hours ago, but he felt it here, now, in a shitty bar playing horrible music and serving even worse food. “I just realized we all named a bunch of stuff that’s for us to share. Not...y’know, big houses, fancy clothes, statues, or whatever it is rich folk spend all their units on. That’s gotta mean _somethin’_ right?”

“That no matter the circumstance, no matter the intent or the outcome...we want to live our lives together.” Gamora held up her mug. “And _that_ , I think, is worth celebrating.”

“Ugh,” Rocket groaned, though he lifted his as well. “You’re startin’ to sound like Quill.”

“Cheer up, Rocket, it is a holiday,” Mantis grinned. “You can be grumpy tomorrow.”

“I’d rather he wasn’t,” Gamora said dryly, a grin spreading across her face as Peter playfully clinked his glass against hers. “Drax?”

They all turned to him expectantly, surprised to find his eyes shining with unshed tears. “Ever since the death of my wife and daughter, I have felt...lost. Adrift in the cosmos, with no single person to find solace in, to share a home and a life with. That has changed with all of you. You, who accept my blunders, my missteps, my history.” He smiled shakily and finally held up his glass to meet everyone else’s. “To my new family.”

“We’ve been a team for like, nine months already - ”

“Dude, don’t ruin the moment,” Peter muttered under his breath, elbowing Rocket. “To family!” Everyone echoed the sentiment with a hearty cry, ignoring the puzzled stares they were getting from other bar patrons, and knocked back the remains of their drinks. Immediately, they all began to cough and splutter uncontrollably. “Aw, man, that’s awful.”

“Never bring us to Contraxia again,” Drax agreed, clearing his throat harshly. “Shall we proceed to the next bar?”

“I’m already out the door,” Rocket said, slamming his mug down and jumping down from the barstool, careful not to jostle Groot too much as he let out a triumphant whoop.

“But you are still - ”

“It is just a saying, Drax,” Mantis said gently, guiding him out the door.

“Hey, you guys didn’t pay - and they’re gone,” Peter sighed, sinking back onto his barstool, only to notice Gamora was already at the register. When she returned, he reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers and leading them both out into the strangely pleasant chill of Contraxia’s ever-present weather. “Always one step ahead of me.”

“Not always, just usually,” Gamora teased, bringing them to a stop right outside. She stepped around to his front, taking his other hand in hers. “Speaking of...promise me that you’ll have a better plan for next year? One that _doesn’t_ involve letting Drax cook?”

Peter smiled down at her, finding it impossible to do anything else. The snow was coming down steady, little flakes landing in her hair and on her eyelashes, her cheeks flushed from the cold. Despite the fact his ship was half-burnt to a crisp and that he could already feel the regret of stale cheese bubbling in his stomach, everything just felt...right. “I’m just glad there’s gonna _be_ a next year. And another...and another,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her. “And yeah...I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a minute since I've done a more ensemble-based prompt fill, so this was super fun! I have another Christmas fic coming on the 24th as well, set in my [20q 'verse](https://archiveofourown.org/series/823920), so if you're interested, be sure to look out for that one!
> 
> This is the last Peter/Gamora prompt for a little while, as I want to focus on my next AU for them in the new year, along with writing some drabbles set in some of my past AUs as requested. I might open prompts up again someday, but for now, I'll only be taking Scott/Hope prompts. You can also read this fic on [tumblr](https://bevioletskies.tumblr.com/post/181307769104/starmora-movie-verse-prompt-where-the-team-is) if you'd like! Thanks so much for reading, comments and kudos would be much appreciated, and I hope you enjoyed :)


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